Method for brewing and chilling a beverage

ABSTRACT

A method for brewing and chilling a brewed beverage such as tea includes brewing the beverage; combining the brewed beverage with a chilling medium; and covering the combined brewed beverage and chilling medium with an air-tight lid assembly to form an airtight seal. The combined brewed beverage and chilling medium may then be agitated. The airtight seal traps vapor generated from the beverage during the chilling, thereby causing the vapor to re-enter the beverage to maintain optimum flavor.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S.application Ser. No. 15/411,881, filed on Jan. 20, 2017, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/318,268, filed on Jun. 27,2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,629,379, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/041,117, filed Mar. 4, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,778,432 which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety and is to be considered a part of this specification. Any andall applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim isidentified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the presentapplication are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to a method and associated apparatus for making abrewed beverage, such as tea, and for chilling the brewed beverage.

Description of the Related Art

Tea and other steeped beverages are customarily prepared by placing tealeaves in a pot, over which near-boiling water is poured. Typically, itis known to provide screens or strainers, known as infusers, to confinethe tea leaves during the brewing cycle.

In general, when making iced tea, the tea generally must be cooled to atleast room temperature before adding ice to ensure that the ice does notmelt to the extent that the tea is uncontrollably diluted. Thepreparation of iced tea thus may be a labor and time intensive process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a method for chilling tea is provided. The methodincludes brewing tea within a first container, the first containerincluding an infuser; pouring the brewed tea into a second containercontaining a chilling medium (e.g., ice); and covering the secondcontainer with a first lid assembly that provides an air tight seal tothe second container.

Advantageously, covering the second container with an airtight seallocks in the freshness and flavor of the beverage. The airtight sealretains and intensifies the tea aroma and flavor. The second containermay be rocked or agitated so as to thoroughly infuse and chill the tea.

This brief summary has been provided so that the nature of thisdisclosure may be understood quickly. A more complete understanding ofthe disclosure can be obtained by reference to the following detaileddescription of the various embodiments thereof in connection with theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing features and other features of the present disclosure willnow be described with reference to the drawings of illustratedembodiments. The illustrated embodiments are intended to illustrate, butnot to limit the disclosure. The drawings include the following figures:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a container assembly inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are top and bottom views respectively of a lid ringcomponent of a lid assembly in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2C-2C of FIG. 2A, inaccordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a cover that includes a removable infuserin accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is side elevational view of beverage brewing and chilling systemaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a method of brewing and chilling a beverage using the systemof FIG. 4 in accordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second container of the system ofFIG. 4, including a beverage and a chilling medium, in accordance withan embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first or infuser containerassembly 100 in accordance with an embodiment. The first containerassembly 100 includes a brewing container, such as a pitcher, jug, potor bottle 102 (hereinafter, “brewing pitcher 102”) having a first lidassembly 104 that includes a lid ring 106, a cover 108 and a brew basketor infuser 110.

The brewing pitcher 102 includes a container body 103 that defines avolume used to hold or contain a substance which may be made to flowfrom the container, for example a liquid or a powder. Though not limitedthereto, the container body 103 may have a generally circular, oval orrectangular cross-section that terminates at a continuous upper edge orrim 105. The rim 105 defines an open top portion 109 of the brewingpitcher 102. In some embodiments, the rim may have formed thereoncontainer threads 107 for mounting and securing the brewing pitcher 102to a lid, for example, reclosable lid or cover 108.

Alternatively, the brewing pitcher may be designed such that the top rim105 of the pitcher 102 may be force fit into a corresponding portion ofthe lid assembly 104 designed to receive the rim 105.

In one embodiment, the infuser 110 includes a well 112 that extends froman upper rim 113 downwardly to a bottom wall 117. The well 112 has sidewalls substantially provided by a porous filter medium 119 (which maybe, for example, a metal, fabric, or polymeric mesh or screen), and isgenerally configured to contain tea leaves, herbal leaves, or othermaterial from which a steeped beverage is brewed. Liquid disposed in thebrewing pitcher 102 enters into the well 112 through the filter medium119. Specifically, hot water poured into the brewing pitcher 102 flowsthrough the filter medium 119 and contacts the material in the well 112to create the brewed beverage, which then flows out of the well 112 backinto the brewing pitcher 102.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are top and bottom views, respectively, of the lid ring106 of the lid assembly 104 in accordance with an embodiment. As shownin FIG. 2A, the lid ring 106 includes a generally cylindrical bodyportion that provides a side wall 114 (FIG. 1) defining a tubularopening. The lid ring 106 provides the primary coupling interfacebetween the brewing pitcher 102 and the lid assembly 104. As shown inFIG. 2A, the lid ring 106 includes a spout 202 formed on a rim 204 onthe circumference of the lid ring 106. The spout 202 is diametricallyopposed from a handle 206 formed on an external surface of side wall114.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B and 2C, the lid ring 106 includes a lipportion 208 that provides a seat for the cover 108 when the cover issecured to the lid ring 106. As shown in FIG. 2C, a flange portion 210extends perpendicularly down from an internal edge 212 of the lipportion 208. The lip portion 208 and flange portion 210 create a seatingarea 214 that is formed and configured to receive the rim 105 of thebrewing pitcher 102 between the flange portion 210 and an internalsurface of the side wall 114. In one embodiment, internal threads 216may be formed on side wall 114 in the seating area 214 to provide for athreadable engagement with the threads 107 formed on the rim 105 of thebrewing pitcher 102 to removably secure the lid ring 106 to the brewingpitcher 102. In one embodiment, a gasket or O-ring 220 may be positionedin the seating area 214 to ensure that the lid ring 106 is sealinglymated to the brewing pitcher 102.

Inward of the seating area 214, the flange portion 210 provides asurface upon which ring threads 222 are formed and positioned to providea threadable engagement with the cover 108 described below.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the cover 108 that includes a removableinfuser 110 in accordance with an embodiment. In one embodiment, thecover 108 includes a cover handle 302 on a cover top surface 304. In oneembodiment, the cover handle 302 resembles a rectangular loop formed onan external surface of the cover. Adjacent and below the cover topsurface 304 is a groove configured to hold an O-ring type gasket 306.The O-ring gasket 306 provides a positive seal between the cover 108 andthe lid ring 106 when the cover 108 is coupled to the lid ring 106.

The cover 108 includes a cover skirt 310, which extends down away fromthe top surface 304 on the opposite side from cover handle 302. As shownin the cut-away section in FIG. 3, the cover skirt 310 defines a hollowspace 312 configured to receive the infuser 110 as described below.

An external surface of the cover skirt 310 includes a set of externalcover threads 308 formed and configured to threadably engage with thering threads 222 to provide the threadable engagement with cover 108.

Within the hollow space 312 a set of internal cover threads 314 areformed generally adjacent the cover top surface 304 on an internalsurface of the cover skirt 310. The internal cover threads 314 provide ameans for the cover 108 to engage with corresponding infuser threads 115provided at the upper rim 113 of the infuser 110. In this manner, theinfuser 110 may be removably secured to the cover 108.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the first or infuser container assembly 100described above may be used as a component of a tea maker system 400 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In the tea makersystem 400, the first or infuser container assembly 100 is combined witha second or chilling container assembly 402 that provides an ability to“chill” the beverage brewed or steeped in the first container assembly100.

The second container assembly 402 has the same general characteristicsas the first container assembly 100, except that it does not include aninfuser. For example, the second container assembly 402 may include achilling pitcher 404 having a body 406 that defines a volume used tohold or contain a substance which may be made to flow from the containerbody. Though not limited thereto, the container body 406 may have agenerally circular, oval or rectangular cross-section that terminates ata continuous upper edge or rim that defines an open top end of thechilling pitcher 404. In some embodiments, the rim may have formedthereon container threads for removably mounting and securing a secondlid assembly 408 to the top end of the chilling pitcher 404. The secondlid assembly 408 may advantageously be essentially the same as the firstlid assembly 108, except that it may omit the above-described structurefor removably attaching an infuser. Thus, the second lid assembly 408includes a second lid ring 410 and a second reclosable lid 412 having asecond lid handle 414. The second lid ring 410 may advantageously beessentially identical to the first lid ring 106 described above andillustrated in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C. Therefore the above description ofthe first lid ring 106 applies to the second lid ring 410 and does notneed to be repeated.

In this embodiment, the chilling pitcher 404 is shown having a heightand diameter that is different from those of the brewing pitcher 102.Alternatively, the chilling pitcher 404 and the brewing pitcher 102 mayhave substantially the same dimensions. It should be understood that thechilling pitcher 404 may still maintain the capability to include aninfuser, as described above, such that its use with the first or infusercontainer assembly 100 is interchangeable within the tea maker system400. In one embodiment, in the tea maker system 400, the first containerassembly 100 may provide the ability to brew the tea using the infuser110, while the second container assembly 402, without the infuser,provides a receptacle in which to chill the tea in the manner describedbelow.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-5, where FIG. 5 is a flow chart of amethod 500 for preparing and chilling a steeped beverage (e.g., tea) inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In operation, a user may assemble the lid assembly 104 of the firstcontainer assembly 100 in any desired order. The embodiment nowdescribed provides one example for the assembly of the lid assembly 104.

First, the brewing pitcher 102 may be fastened to the lid ring 106 bythreading the threads 216 of the lid ring 106 into threads 105 of thebrewing pitcher 102.

Next, the infuser 110 is filled with an appropriate amount of tea leaves(not shown) or other herbal material from which the beverage is to bemade. (For the sake of simplicity, reference in the followingdescription to “tea leaves” will be understood to include any herbal ororganic material from which a beverage may be brewed or steeped.) Theinfuser 110 is then attached to the cover 108 by threading the infuser110 onto the internal cover threads 314 in the hollow space 312. Thewell 112 then extends downwardly from the center of the cover 108.

The combined cover 108 and infuser 110 may be inserted into the brewingpitcher 102 through the open top portion 109 having the lid ring 106already attached. Generally, when the infuser 110 is inserted into thebrewing pitcher 102 filled with liquid, the bottom of the well 112 isimmersed below the surface of the liquid. The level of immersion isdependent on the predetermined length of the infuser well and the depthof the liquid. The porous filter medium 119 of the well 112 allows theliquid to circulate through the well 112 and contact any contents (e.g.,tea leaves) therein.

Once the infuser 110 containing the tea leaves is positioned within thebrewing pitcher 102, hot water from any hot water source is poured intothe brewing pitcher 102 to brew or steep the concentrated tea (FIG. 5,step 502).

In one embodiment, the cover 108 may be attached and secured to the lidring 106 by threading the external cover threads 308 into the ringthreads 222. Advantageously, as the cover 108 with the infuser 110attached is being threaded, the cover and infuser are made to rotate,for example, as represented by arrows 120 in FIG. 1. The rotation may beeither clockwise or counter-clockwise depending on whether the cover isbeing opened or closed. The rotation causes the infuser 110 to rotatewhile being immersed in the liquid creating an agitation or mixingeffect between the contents in the well 112 and the liquid. In thismanner rotating the infuser 110 causes liquid to enter and exit the well112 at a faster rate than when the infuser is not being rotated, whichmay facilitate or speed-up the steeping or brewing process.

When the cover 108 is less than completely threaded into lid ring 106,the cover is not in a sealed relationship with the lid ring. Thus,liquid from brewing pitcher 102 may be poured out via the spout 202.When the cover 108 is threaded completely onto the lid ring 106, theO-ring 306 is seated onto the lip portion 208, such that no fluid may bepoured out from the brewing pitcher 102.

In one example, when a user determines that a steeped beverage hasreached a desired strength, the user may remove the cover 108 from thelid ring 106 and thus remove the infuser 110 from the liquid. The usermay then remove the infuser 110 from the cover 108. The user may thenreturn the cover 108 to the lid assembly 104 to continue acting as acover for the beverage in the brewing pitcher 102.

The container body 406 of the chilling pitcher 404 is configured to bepartially filled with a chilling medium (typically ice, in the form ofice cubes, crushed ice, shaved ice, or the like), which allows thecontainer body 406 to be used to convert the freshly brewed tea to icedtea. In step 504 (FIG. 5), the freshly brewed tea is poured from thebrewing pitcher 102 into the container body 406 of the chilling pitcher404, which contains the ice. The brewed and concentrated tea may be thenmixed with additional water. That is, the container body 406 may betopped off with water.

Next, in step 506, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the second lid assembly408 is fastened onto the container body 406 of the chilling pitcher 404.The second lid ring 410 of the second lid assembly 408 engages the rimaround the open top end of the chilling pitcher 404 so as create anairtight seal therewith, thereby forming an airtight chamber 610 withinthe chilling pitcher. This airtight seal is advantageously provided by agasket or O-ring, such as the gasket 220 shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C,keeping in mind that these figures apply to the second lid ring 410 aswell as to the first lid ring 106, as noted above. The airtight sealcauses the airtight chamber 610 to trap any water vapor 602 created bythe mixture of hot, freshly-brewed tea 604 and ice 606 in the container406 of the chilling pitcher 404. The vapor created in the airtightchamber 610 is then forced back into the tea 604. The airtight chamber610 created by sealing the container body 406 should help in maintainingoptimum flavor within the tea 604 without causing the ice 606 to meltprematurely.

In step 508 (FIG. 5), the chilling pitcher 404 may be agitated asneeded.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference tospecific embodiments, these embodiments are illustrative only and notlimiting. Many other applications and embodiments of the presentdisclosure will be apparent in light of this disclosure and thefollowing claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method of preparing a steeped beverage, the methodcomprising: combining a concentrated liquid that has been steeped with achilling medium in a container comprising a body having an open top;securing a cover to a lid ring and the lid ring to the body at the opentop of the container in an air tight manner to enclose the concentratedliquid and the chilling medium within the container; agitating thecombined chilling medium and the concentrated liquid while sealed in theair tight manner inside the container to cool and dilute theconcentrated liquid to make an iced beverage; removing an infuser havingan ingredient located therein to be steeped with hot water from insidethe container prior to combining the concentrated liquid with thechilling medium inside the container; and wherein the infuser comprisesa body defining a well having a porous filter medium.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the ingredient is tea leaves, herbal leaves, or othermaterial from which the steeped beverage is brewed.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the cover has a handle located on an upper exteriorsurface.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the lid ring comprises asidewall having a spout and a handle located thereon.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the handle comprises a first handle section extendingat an angle to a second handle section.
 7. The method of claim 6,further comprising a gasket compressed between the cover and the lidring.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising a gasket between thelid ring and the container.
 9. A method of preparing a steeped beverage,the method comprising: coupling a lid ring comprising a sidewalldefining a hollow interior, a first end, and an opposed second end to acontainer having a body with an interior space for holding liquid, saidbody of the container comprising an upper rim with an opening and abottom; wherein the lid ring receives the upper rim of the container inthe hollow interior at the second end; suspending an infuser from withinthe hollow interior of said lid ring so that a well of said infuserprojects into the interior space of the container, the well comprising aplurality of through holes for fluid to pass thereacross; placing aningredient to be steeped in the well of the infuser; attaching a coverto the lid ring in an air tight manner to enclose the infuser inside thecontainer; and where a spout having a spout portion extends radiallyoutward from the sidewall at the first end of the lid ring and a handleextends radially outward from the sidewall of the lid ring.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the cover has a handle located on an upperexterior surface.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the cover isthreadedly engaged to the lid ring.
 12. The method of claim 9, whereinthe handle comprises a first handle section extending at an angle to asecond handle section.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising agasket compressed between the cover and the lid ring.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising a gasket between the lid ring and thecontainer.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein the ingredient is tealeaves, herbal leaves, or other material from which the steeped beverageis brewed.
 16. A method of preparing a steeped beverage, the methodcomprising: adding an ingredient to be steeped to an interior of a wellof an infuser, the well comprising a plurality of through holes forfluid to pass thereacross; projecting the well into an interior of abody of a container, the body of the container comprising an upper rimwith an opening and a bottom; adding hot water to the container to steepthe ingredient inside the interior of the well to make a concentratedbeverage; removing the infuser with the ingredient to be steeped fromthe interior of the container; combining a chilling medium with theconcentrated beverage to dilute the concentrated beverage to make adiluted beverage; sealing the diluted beverage and chilling medium in anair tight manner within the container by securing a cover to a lid ringand the lid ring to the container to enclose the container and to lockin vapor created in the enclosed container, said lid ring attached tothe body of the container; and agitating the combined diluted beverageand chilling medium while sealed in the air tight manner inside thecontainer.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the chilling medium isice.
 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising a first gasketbetween the cover and the lid ring and a second gasket between the lidring and the container.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein theingredient is tea leaves, herbal leaves, or other material from whichthe steeped beverage is brewed.
 20. A method of preparing a steepedbeverage, the method comprising: adding a liquid into a container havingan infuser containing an ingredient to be steeped inside a well of theinfuser to make a beverage; removing the infuser from a lid ringattached to an open top of a body of the container; wherein the lid ringcomprises a sidewall defining a hollow interior, a first end, an opposedsecond end, a handle extending outwardly from the sidewall, and a spoutextending outwardly from the sidewall; coupling a cover to the lid ringin an air tight manner after removing the infuser to cover the open topof the container to hold the beverage inside the container; wherein thecover comprises a cover handle attached to a cover top surface; andwherein the infuser comprises a body defining a well comprising aplurality of through holes for fluid to pass thereacross.
 21. A methodof preparing a steeped beverage, the method comprising: attaching a lidring to a container, wherein the lid ring comprises a sidewall defininga hollow interior, a spout having a spout portion extending radiallyoutward from the sidewall, a first end, an opposed second end, and ahandle extending from the sidewall on a side of the sidewall opposingthe spout; the container having a body with an interior space forholding a liquid, an upper rim with an opening, and an enclosed bottom;the lid ring receiving the upper rim of the container in the hollowinterior; and attaching a cover to the lid ring in an air tight mannerto enclose a concentrated beverage inside the container while an infusercomprising a well having an ingredient to be steeped has an open upperrim located within the sidewall of the lid ring and the well projectsinto the interior space of the container and the well comprising aplurality of through holes for fluid to pass thereacross.
 22. The methodof claim 21, wherein the cover has a handle located on an upper exteriorsurface.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the handle on the lid ringcomprises a first handle section extending at an angle to a secondhandle section.
 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising a gasketcompressed between the cover and the lid ring.
 25. The method of claim24, further comprising a gasket between the lid ring and the container.26. The method of claim 21, wherein the ingredient is tea leaves, herballeaves, or other material from which the steeped beverage is brewed. 27.A method of preparing a steeped beverage, the method comprising:combining a steeped beverage that is still hot with a chilling medium ina container comprising a body with an open top and an enclosed bottom;attaching a lid ring to the body of the container; wherein: the lid ringcomprises a sidewall defining a hollow interior, a spout having a spoutportion extending radially outward from the sidewall, a first end, anopposed second end, and a handle; the handle and the spout are generallyequally spaced from one another along the sidewall of the lid ring;attaching a cover to the lid ring with a gasket located therebetween inan air tight manner to seal the steeped beverage that is still hot withthe chilling medium inside the container, wherein said cover comprises atop surface comprising a cover handle located on the top surface; andagitating the combined still hot steeped beverage and the chillingmedium while enclosed inside the container by causing the chillingmedium and the still hot steeped beverage to agitate to cool and dilutethe steeped beverage.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the coverhandle has two ends attached to the top surface of the cover.
 29. Themethod of claim 28, wherein the handle on the lid ring comprises a firsthandle section extending at an angle to a second handle section.
 30. Themethod of claim 29, further comprising a gasket compressed between thecover and the lid ring.
 31. The method of claim 27, wherein the steepedbeverage is made from an ingredient comprising tea leaves, herballeaves, or other material from which the steeped beverage is brewed. 32.The method of claim 27, further comprising an infuser comprising a welllocated externally of the container when the cover is attached to thelid ring and the chilling medium is located inside the container, theinfuser being usable to steep an ingredient.